ACCEPT's WOLF HOFFMANN: 'I Don't Wanna Ever Retire Again'

In a new interview with Rapture Radio, Wolf Hoffmann was asked if he ever sees an end to ACCEPT. The ACCEPT guitarist and leader responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I have no desire to ever — I don't wanna ever retire or anything, because in a way, the band had a really long break in the '90s, or late '90s to the mid-2000s already. So I've kind of seen what retirement is like, I've had my early retirement in a way, and now that we're back full in the swing of things, I don't wanna ever retire again, 'cause this is what I love and what I wanna do. And I think you only retire from stuff you don't like. And if you find something that really makes you happy, why would you wanna retire from it? So I wanna do this until the bitter end, man — however that looks."

Asked how he keeps things fresh for himself and his bandmates several decades into ACCEPT's career, Wolf said: "I think you only get bored if you stop caring, if you don't give a damn anymore. Maybe then you get bored, but I never feel that way. I'm really still in the middle of all these challenges, and right now it's super exciting. We're touring South America and things are just fresh and we have a full year of touring ahead of us. I can't ever see it getting boring. I mean, there's so many exciting things and so many challenges to overcome. I don't see this ever getting older or boring, because it's never the same — every day is different, every show is different, and every time I go out on stage thinking, 'Tonight's gonna be magic. It's gonna be the best show ever.' So I think with that attitude, it can't really ever get boring."

Hoffmann previously floated the idea of "dropping dead on stage" during an 2018 interview with RockSverige. "Honestly, I'm not even kidding," he said. "That's my personal goal, because I don't think retirement is really an attractive option. That is maybe partly because I've already been retired and away from the music business for 10 years when I became a photographer and I did something completely outside of the music business. I mean, those were good years in a way, but now that I'm back into it, I feel it's much more fulfilling and I have something… a goal where I get up every day in the morning and I have something I'm really looking forward to and it's something that keeps me busy all day long."

He continued: "Retirement is just a terrible thought to me because I wouldn't know what to do, to be honest. Maybe if I found something to do, because I'm never really bored… I'm a guy who's always doing stuff and a I have a lot of different interests, but it wouldn't have the same meaning and appeal as working with music and working with this whole machinery that's called ACCEPT. I don't want to retire if I'm not forced to it. You never know what's in the future."

Asked what has been the high point of his career so far, Wolf said: "You can always talk about the golden '80s and there was certainly something very special about it. Mainly because there was all of this sort of pioneer spirit; everything was new and exciting and everything happened kind of for the first time. We went to America for, like, eight months and stayed on the road and discovered the world, so to say. We were still kids — in our early 20s — so the year 1984 was very, very special. But since we were so young and everything happened for the very first time, you couldn't really put it its proper place. You almost took it for granted in a weird way, because it just sort of happened and we weren't as reflective on things. Now that we're a little bit older and we've been around the world dozens of times, when things happen now, you can put it in a much more clearer perspective."

As for a low point, Wolf said: "Yeah, no doubt that whole period with [singer] David Reece in the '90s when we had that album 'Eat The Heat' out, that was definitely a dip in the curve, I'd say. Another dip was in the late '90s when the band dissolved, but that was a time when heavy metal wasn't cool and nobody wanted to hear it and everybody was just into grunge and alternative this and that. That was definitely a low point for metal in general everywhere in the world. It was also the time when I decided that it was maybe time to call it quits and do something completely different in my life. I didn't really want to go down with the ship any further and didn't really want to make music, because I had to play music to make a living or anything. It sounded like a dreadful idea to me, so I said, 'Maybe it's time to walk away from everything.' An 'it was fun while it lasted' sort of thing."

ACCEPT's latest album, "Humanoid", was released on April 26 via Napalm Records. The LP was once again produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by critically acclaimed heavy metal producer Andy Sneap.

ACCEPT recently announced a massive European headline tour, with more than 20 shows across the continent for autumn 2024. This summer, ACCEPT will also return to some of the world’s most important rock and metal festivals, like Wacken Open Air, Hellfest and more, following their South American spring tour.

ACCEPT and KK'S PRIEST will join forces this fall 2024 for a North American tour. The run will begin on August 31 in Los Angeles, California, visiting a slew of major cities in the USA and Canada — such as Toronto, Montreal, New York and Nashville — before coming to an end in San Francisco, California on October 7.

In February 2022, it was announced that ACCEPT had inked a worldwide deal with Napalm Records.

ACCEPT's previous album, "Too Mean To Die", came out in January 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was the group's first without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, the aforementioned Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

Mark Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for the band's original lead singer, Udo Dirkscheider. He can be heard on ACCEPT's last six studio albums, "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017),2021's "Too Mean To Die" and 2024's "Humanoid".